There’s an RGB party in my studio courtesy of this LED smart light bulb

Yes, I’m actually writing a smart light bulb review again. I’ve done this before. Well, one of my friends has done a review before, about four years ago! (you can read it here). But a few things have changed in four years. Lets get this out the way right from the start – I’ve always been a bit dubious about spending more than 500 bucks on a light bulb. When you compare to a usual bulb that costs anything from R30 to R100 it seems a bit excessive.

BUT fun

smart light

You’re not buying a smart light bulb because you’re watching the bank balance and need to replace it. You’re buying one because you want to have a host of fun options and be able to create a mood with the lighting of a room – because that’s ultimately what light is able to do. The LifeSmart Bluetooth Light Bulb is an interesting one. I’m not all that familiar with LifeSmart so I can’t talk about life span here but I’ve been suitably impressed with this little bugger. I replaced the light in my office with the LifeSmart to test it out.

Set up is pretty simple

smart light

Put the light bulb in, download the accompanying app on iOS or Android (really easy to find on the store by the way, just search LifeSmart), and follow the prompts. It took me all of 5 minutes to download the app, set up an account and get started. The app offers a host of functionality. You’re able to choose between a stack of colours and alter them as well. The marketing screams 16 000 000 and with the amount of customisation and selection – I believe it. Click the colour you want and off you go. You can also tweak it slightly as per your requirements. So if you need strong white light for filming – sorted, want to go orange for a Call of Duty feel or bright pink for a giggle – sorted. I was also impressed with the strength of the light. For context, I took the photos you see in the blog post at midday with full sunlight and you can still see the strong colour.

What about the fun?

smart light

Here’s where the good stuff comes in. The LifeSmart offers a host of “themes” which allow RGB change overs, Unicorn features and even a full on disco throbbing light. You can also schedule those themes to run at certain times of the day as well as various colours to be scheduled to feature at certain times of the day. You can set up the light to change when you shake your phone but also to change according to the music you play. As most of my gaming is done with a headset on this isn’t going to feature much in my study but I’m seriously thinking my lounge could do with this!

smart light

You are able to also control the hue of the light as well. So there really is a huge amount of customisation on offer here and I’ve had a good few days of fun trying new themes and colours. I never thought I needed a smart bulb but I’m going to be dead honest, I really love this in my office. It is fun. The true test is to see how long it takes before the bulb needs replacing. I’ll keep you updated on that. But seriously – I dig it! It’s added a fun mood to my studio/office and I can see the appeal now. However, I’m not convinced I’ll be replacing the lights in my house with Bluetooth bulbs any time soon. A nice to have but not a must.

The bulb costs around R500 and is distributed by Syntech. The product features on their site and includes links to retailers who stock it. You can find out more here.

Disclosure: Syntech sent me a LifeSmart bulb to review and keep. 

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